History:
The Tornellian species was first created on an alternate Earth following an alchemical accident that resulted in the combination of the alchemist’s pets, a domesticated wolf and a house cat, and several animals kept in his lair for experimentation, chief among them several reptilian species. This accident resulted in the first Tornellian pair.
Although the alchemist, named Tornellius, was expected to get rid of the mistakes, he kept them, and soon discovered several interesting qualities about them. Firstly, they were highly intelligent, more so than many of the humans in the castle. By our standards, the average torney IQ would hover around a hundred or so. They also, as he found from subsequent generations, were size-adaptable. The first few that he kept in his lair never grew to much bigger than his original canine companion, but when one of their children was given to a child of a friend of the alchemist and was allowed to roam about a farm, the torney grew to the size of a small horse.
It soon became commonplace to see tornellians accompanying those of status. It was seen as a good omen if one decided to accompany a knight on a quest, and if a peasant child was chosen by an infant Tornellian as a companion, that child and their family would almost immediately rise in status.
Following a devastating plague that wiped humanity off the face of the earth nearly a hundred years after the tornellians were first created, the torneys became the dominant species on their planet. Their culture developed much like the human race would have, although there are far fewer torneys than there are humans in our world. A human, finding their way through to their world, would find it very similar to today’s, except, of course, maximized for a dominant species with four legs and lacking opposable thumbs.
Our dimension is linked to theirs by a series of portals that open and close every once in a while, allowing a few Tornellian adventurers into our world. Their journeys have inspired legends of dragons and other mythical species when skeletons are discovered or fleeting glimpses of them are seen.
And now, every once in a while, a child Tornellian will decided to cross the divide and choose a human from our world as a companion. Will it be you?
Species Information:
Name:
Scientific: Par Tornellius (friend of Tornellius)
Common: Tornellian, plural Tornellians
Informal: Torney/Torneys
Size:
Depends on habitat, may be anywhere from a small housecat to a pony, sometimes larger
Intelligence:
Near human-human (IQ ~100)
Appearance:
Anatomy somewhere between a dog and a cat, with a long, bushy tail and scaled face, chest, and legs. The tuft on the end appears only once adulthood is reached, and is incredibly sensitive, used mostly for sensing the world around them. The fluffy mane-like fur on their neck is similarly used, but appears earlier in development. The horns are not stiff, nor truly horns, but are used to convey emotion. They are scaled, but can move depending on the torney’s mood. Usually they’ll be down and loosely curved towards the face, but when excited, may go nearly straight back, or curled nearly all the way up if unhappy or uncomfortable. The horns begin growing in adolescence, but will not grow all the way in until adulthood. Horns and tail tuft will not grow back if something happens to them. A torney that never grows horns or tail tuft is not considered an adult in Tornellian society, even if they are physically full grown, one that loses their horns/tail tuft after being full grown is still considered an adult, although it will feel almost like going blind or deaf.
Rarity Levels:
Common:
Simple accessories, no line edits, natural colors on fur and unnatural colors on scales. Simple markings
Uncommon:
More complex accessories, may have fur mimicking hair. May be missing one or more horns.
Rare:
Unnatural colors on fur, natural colors on scales. May have hair, complex accessories, or missing horns/tail tuft.
Very Rare:
Major lineart edits, like missing limbs, wings, scales, etc. Usually have complex designs.
